No. 2 Northwestern claims sixth-straight UMAC playoff title - Feb 29, 2016
After a season finale matchup that put the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season title on the line, it was fitting that the tournament championship pitted the same two teams against each other for a third time this season in 2016 with No. 1 seed College of St. Scholastica hosting No. 2 University of Northwestern-St. Paul Saturday. The Saints may have taken the two regular season games from the Eagles, but this time Northwestern took control early en route to a 93-70 victory for their sixth-straight UMAC playoff title and earned the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA tournament. The Eagles opened up the game with a 5-0 run, but the Saints managed to tie it up quickly at 5-5 - the last time the score was tied in a game that St. Scholastica never led. Immediately after, the Eagles went on a 17-6 run to take an 11-point lead with 10:56 left in the half. The Saints didn't give up easily, though, when they went on an 11-3 run to make it 25-23 just over two minutes later. The Eagles came back again with another run to take a 47-36 lead at the half. In the second half, the Saints came out and made a few free throws early and eventually pulled within nine, but the Eagles' balanced attack was too much for the Saints who end their season at 19-8 after claiming the regular season UMAC title. As a team, Northwestern shot 50.7 percent from the field and controlled the glass with a 43-32 advantage. They collected 14 offensive boards to score 23 second-chance points. The Eagles played a near-flawless game with just six turnovers all night. The Eagles were led in scoring by Will Gisler (6'6''-F-94) who earned the Tournament Most Valuable Player Award with an 18-point performance. The junior went 8-of-13 from the floor Saturday - including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc - and added eight rebounds. Gisler finished his two tournament games with 31 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Four other Eagles' players scored in double figures including Anderson Bazile (6'2''-G), Jr., who came off the bench for 17 points with three-made 3-pointers. Michael Carney (6'0''-PG-93) posted a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Cody Sprenger (6'0''-PG-94) went 6-of-12 from the floor for 15 points. Kyle Ooms (6'6''-F-94) also added 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Kory Deadrick (6'7''-F) came off the bench to lead the Saints with 13 points off three-made buckets from beyond the arc. Joe Stark (6'3''-G) also scored in double-digits with 12 points.
Courtesy of UMAC Athletics
UMAC Tournament Final: Northwestern - St. Scholastica 93-70 UMAC Tournament Semifinals: North Central - Northwestern 66-88 Minnesota Morris 66 - St. Scholastica 66-81
All-UMAC Awards 2016 - Mar 3, 2016
All-UMAC 1st Team 2016
Brassow
Carney
Douglas
Frelix
Schradle
All-Tournament MVP: Will Gisler (6'6''-F-94) of Northwestern, MN Player of the Year: Zach Schradle (6'5''-G) of Wisc.-Superior Freshman of the Year: Brandon Newman (6'2''-G) of St.Scholastica Coach of the Year: David Staniger of St.Scholastica
All-Defensive Team
G: CD Douglas (6'2''-G) of Minn.-Morris
PG: Julius Johnson (5'7''-PG) of St.Scholastica
F: Kyle Ooms (6'6''-F-94) of Northwestern, MN
PG: Cody Sprenger (6'0''-PG-94) of Northwestern, MN
G: Tyler Ukkelburg (6'3''-G) of Minn.-Morris